Study: Franklin County fourth in state for growth

By Elaine Ezerins

JustThe Facts

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ST. ALBANS — Franklin County ranks fourth in the state for economic growth over the past five years, according to a study recently compiled by the financial technology company SmartAsset.

The company based the rankings on four categories: business and gross domestic product growth, number of new building permits issued and municipal bond investment. An incoming investment index was calculated by weighing the data of each category at 25 percent each.

Franklin County ranked fourth on the index at 23.48, with Chittenden County in first place at 32.04. In tenth was Orange County at 15.66.

Franklin County had a 2.5 percent growth in business establishments from 2011-2014, according to the Census County Business Patterns Survey. The county also had $9 million in gross domestic product growth during the same time period, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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